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New Hampshire Sen. Jeanne Shaheen broke ranks with party leadership, joining Republicans and seven other Democrats to advance a measure to end the longest government shutdown in U.S. history — a move that drew sharp rebukes from prominent progressives.
“We’re making sure that the people of America can get the food benefits that they need, that air traffic controllers can get paid, that federal workers are able to come back, the ones who were let go, that they get paid, that contractors get paid, that aviation moves forward…” Shaheen said on “Fox & Friends.”
“We are going to be able to continue to fight about healthcare because we’re going to have a vote in December.”
Despite opposition from Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., and others, Shaheen defended the vote on Monday as a necessary step to “[turn] the government back on” and get the economy “moving again.”
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The New Hampshire Democrat also pushed back on claims that she acted without party coordination, saying leadership was informed throughout the process.
“I think it’s important to remember who’s responsible for why we got into this shutdown,” she said.
“We are here because healthcare costs are rising significantly [for] millions of Americans, and we didn’t have any indication before the shutdown started that our Republican colleagues were willing to address it.”
Under the new agreement, she said both parties will have “an opportunity to work on those healthcare costs,” noting that many Republicans, “including a lot of Trump supporters,” also want relief.
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Eight Senate Democrats, including Shaheen, defected from their party and joined Republicans in their bid to pass a revamped plan to end the shutdown on Sunday.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer criticized the move, saying, “This healthcare crisis is so severe, so urgent, so devastating for families back home that I cannot, in good faith, support this CR that fails to address the healthcare crisis.”
Sen. Sanders also rebuked the decision, saying Sunday was a “very bad night.”
Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif., also sounded off, insisting Schumer is “no longer effective” and “should be replaced.”
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Schumer and Senate Democrats long stayed the course that they would only vote to reopen the government in exchange for a solid deal on extending expiring Obamacare subsidies.
When asked, Shaheen did not share whether she believed Schumer should be replaced.
Fox News’ Alex Miller and Leo Briceno contributed to this report.
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